On September 1 1969 a military revolt took place in Libya, which concluded the long reign of King Idris (1951-1969). At first, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs found it difficult to evaluate the nature of the new regime. They were even less able to assess the character and position of the leader of the revolt – Muammar Gaddafi. A senior official in the Ministry even claimed that Gaddafi's role was only to serve as a public figurehead for the rulers of the new republic.

The diplomatic documents appearing here for the first time show the focus of interest of the Israeli diplomatic community following the revolution in Libya:
(a) Concern about the influence of events in Libya on relations between Israel and the Western countries, especially the United States;
 (b) Concern for the small Jewish minority in Libya.
The reports express very little interest in the revolutionary change that Libya had undergone, and very little understanding of it. Evidence of this is the fact that the change was almost always called a 'coup d'état' (i.e. replacement of the head of state with someone else), rather than a 'revolution', implying basic changes in the regime, society and the economy.

One of the first assessments of the new regime was written by the Deputy Director-General Shlomo Hillel, later a government minister and Speaker of the Knesset. Hillel was concerned that the West would blame Israel for the fall of friendly, moderate regimes (such as the previous one in Libya), and demand that it change its policy regarding the "Administered Territories', in order to prevent the fall of additional moderate regimes: Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon. Therefore, he proposed possible courses of action to mitigate this trend (Document No. 1 Hebrew)

In the initial reports regarding events in Libya, Gaddafi's name was not mentioned, and this is the background to the assessment mentioned above. Only on September 9 did Gaddafi lose his anonymity and become known as the leader of the revolution.

Following this Yehuda Taggar of the Israeli embassy in London reported on the investiture of Gaddafi as the 'President of the Revolutionary Command Council' in Libya (Document No. 3 Hebrew)

The new regime that was established in Libya worked towards receiving international recognition. On September 10 the Libyan consulate general in Geneva sent out an announcement to the foreign diplomats residing in Switzerland about the 'white revolution' (without bloodshed) that had taken place in Libya, and the formation of a new regime. The announcement included the basic principles of the new regime: eliminating the indifference of the old regime towards social and economic problems in Libya; participating in the improvement of Arab individuals' condition in the Arab homelands; contributing to the improvement of people's conditions in the modern world. It should be emphasized that in the list of goals that the new regime set for itself, neither Israel nor Palestine were even mentioned. In addition, the names of the members of the new government were listed (Gaddafi was not included among them).

Surprisingly, the Libyans also sent the announcement to the Israel embassy in Berne (Document No. 2 French). Raphael Gvir, of the European Division 1 (Western Europe) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem estimated that the letter was sent by mistake, and that "it cannot be assumed that this is the first hint of the start of extensive relations between Israel and Libya".  Therefore, Israel never responded officially to the Libyan message.

To watch a French documentary film about the white revolution in Libya, October 1969

In a discussion by the government on September 15, Foreign Minister Abba Eban noted that elements in the US Department were expressing great concern regarding the developments in Libya, while at the same time expressing regret that American policy towards Israel does not demand that it withdraw immediately from the territories. This comment reflects concerns similar to those expressed by Hillel. However, on the other hand, members of the British government expressed an optimistic attitude about relations between the West and the Libyan republic (Document No. 4 Hebrew). In time, it became apparent that these hopes were unfounded. The new regime in Libya closed the British and American bases on Libyan soil, and turned Libya into a centre of terror against Britain, the United States and other countries.

One of Israel's concerns was the fate of the remnants of Libyan Jewry. Despite the fact that following the pogroms that broke out in Libya after the Six Day War, in which 17 Jews were murdered, the number of Jews in Libya dropped from some 4,000 to some 400-500; they were still a source of anxiety. At the end of September it became known that an American working in Libya had smuggled out a Jew who wanted to escape to Malta when he left the country, in a crate intended for a piano,.

Eliahu Hassine, the counsellor and chargé  d́ affaires of the Israel embassy in Valletta, the capital of Malta, reported on the incident to Yohanan Meroz, the director of the European Division (1) in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Document No. 5 Hebrew), with an accompanying press clipping from the Malta News newspaper, of September 30 1969.

Some years later, the last of the Libyan Jews left the republic of Libya.

List of Documents

1. Shlomo Hillel, Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to Abba Eban, Minister of Foreign Affairs (Hebrew)
3/9/1969, ISA/MFA/4209/15
Assessment of the dangers to Israel following the revolution in Libya and proposals for Israeli policy.

2. The Libyan Consulate in Geneva to the Israel Embassy in Berne (French)
9-10/9/1969, ISA/MFA/4209/13
Announcement of the formation of a new regime in Libya, following the 'White Revolution', and the list of ministers of the new government.

3.Yehuda Taggar, First Secretary of the Israel Embassy in London, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Hebrew)
15/9/1969, ISA/MFA/4209/15
Report on the presentation of Muammar Gaddafi as the leader of the revolution in Libya.

4. Report by Minister of Foreign Affairs Abba Eban at a government meeting (Hebrew
15/9/1969, ISA/A/7636/1
Report on the assessments of officials at the US Department of State and the British Foreign Office of the occurrences in Libya.

5. Eliahu Hassine, Chargé d́ Affaires of the Israel Embassy in Valletta to Yohanan Meroz, Director of European Division (1) (Hebrew)
30/9/1969, ISA/MFA/4209/18
Report on the smuggling out of a Libyan Jew to Malta by an American, and the implications of the incident.

Edited and introduced by Arnon Lammfromm
General Editor: Hagai Tsoref
Copy-editing: Judith Shemesh
Internet content editing: Oranit Levi
Scanning: Shlomo Mark
Translation: Quality Translations
English editing: Louise Fischer
French editing: Yoel Sher